Heidelberg : travel & food guide

Hello you guys! What’s up? It’s November and it’s freaking cold. Moreover, Christmas is coming and I am NOT a big fan. What about you? Do you celebrate Christmas? Are you excited about this time of the year? And more importantly did you begin your Christmas shopping?!

I got one week off work this month and with my sister we just couldn’t stay in one place! So we decided to spend a few days in Heidelberg, Germany. And you know what? I totally fell in love… Since you guys couldn’t travel with us, here’s my thoughts about this little weekend away.

As you must know by now (or not), we live very close to Germany (like half an hour by car…don’t you love Europe?) so it was the perfect destination for just a few days away. Plus, the Heidelberg pictures on Google were SO pretty, it looked like a city you could find in a fairytale story or something. Located in Baden-Wüttemberg on the river Neckar in South-west Germany, Heidelberg is actually a college town. It is also a very popular tourist destination due to its romantic cityscape.

THE SIGHTS

We started our trip with the Old Town (Alstadt). I really enjoyed our walk in the Hauptstraße, the longest pedestrian walkway in Europe. It expands over a mile east and west, parallel to the Neckar river. We came across a lot of shops, coffee and gelato shops. It made us hungry for sure…

Then, we headed over to the Old Bridge (Alte Brücke) and took in the view of the castle and the Neckar river. It’s impossible to miss it since this area is always busy with tourists taking selfies (yeah I was one of them…). There are also cruises you can take. But even if the sun was out, it was way too cold for that kind of activity. It should be a lovely thing to do during spring or summer if you don’t mind all the tourists.

After crossing the bridge, there’s a steep climb up to the Philosopher’s Walk (Philisophenweg). Apparently, it’s tough, but the view is totally worth it. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for this one, we were on a tight schedule. Next time for sure! By the way, it’s called Philisophenweg because during the Romantic Period many philosophers walked the path to clear their minds. Maybe they found inspiration up there, who knows?

Last stop but not the least : Schloss Heidelberg! My favorite I must admit. Dating back to the 1200s, this castle is located 80 metres (260 ft) up the northern part of the Königstuhl hillside, and dominates the view of the old downtown. After a climb, we came face to face with that magnificient castle. Surrounded by a park, the architecture is a mix of styles from Gothic to Renaissance. We took a little break and enjoyed the view of the city. The sun was shining and it’s wasn’t too crowded. All in all, this is probably the prettiest ruins I have ever seen!

THE FOOD

Truth to be told, we ate a lot of Italian food during those few days (blame those delicious pizzas!) but if you ever go to Germany, here’s a few specialties you MUST try.

German food makes perfect comfort food. Of course each region has its own speciality dishes but here’s a top 3. Guten Appetit!

1. Spätzle

Spätzle are a kind of pasta, but the dough consists of eggs, flour, salt and a hint of fizzy water (in order to fluff up the dough). We also find it a lot in our hometown, probably because we’re right next to Germany. All I have to say is : holy mother of god, it’s SO good!

2. Currywurst

There are more than 1 500 different types of sausage made in Germany! Invented in Berlin, the Currywurst is usually made of a pork sausage and covered in a mix of Ketchup and some curry powder. Traditionally, you will eat it with some french fries or a plain white bread.

3. Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte

You’ll find lots of cakes and tarts to tempt you in Germany, commonly made with fresh fruits. Very few can resist a huge slice of the most famous of German cakes. This Black Forest cherry cake is alternating layers of rich chocolate cake, cherries and whipped cream are topped off with more cream, maraschino cherries and chocolate shavings. Yum!

Did you ever go to Heidelberg ? What did you think? If not, would you like to go?Did you already visit Germany?

What’s your top 3 destinations in your travel bucketlist? What are your culinary specialities in your country? Do you want to try this GORGEOUS CAKE?!!

Ooh this looks so so pretty!! And that Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte looks to DIE FOR! I really love these travelling posts- definitely somewhere I want to check out one day 😀 And it looks like you had fun 😀

Hi Nyx! Glad to hear that you guys enjoyed the trip! Wow these are gorgeous photos! I haven’t been to Germany (yet) and this is the first that I’ve heard of Heidelberg, but you made me want to visit this city 🙂 It sounds like such a great place for inspiring creativity!
Black Forest cake is my favourite of all time- I will have to remember to try that in Germany in the future!

Oh my god your pictures are incredible Nyx. 🙂 It looks like you both had an incredible time in Germany and had incredible weather while you were there as well. I am going to be adding Heidelberg on my list of must-travel to places now, and not just for the sights but the food as well (I love black forest cherry cake).
My top three travel destinations on my bucket-list at the moment are Greece, Japan and Egypt. I’m hoping to make it to each of those places once day, but I have a huge list of cities I want to go to, those three are just the tip of the iceberg! 😀
Great post. 🙂 ❤

Aww, thank you so much Beth! 😊 Yees, it was really fun and the weather wonderful. We were really lucky because the day we left the sky was all grey and depressing! Glad I’m making your travel bucket-list longer, you won’t regret it haha ! 😁 Awesome top 3! Went to Crete when I was younger and it was SO charming, hoping to get to Greece one day too. Thanks for stopping by 😘😘

That’s all right, and oh it’s always great when things work out like that. I always have a better time on holiday when the weather is nice, not that I let the bad weather spoil my time away either.
I definitely won’t, I wanna one day be able to say I’ve seen the whole world! 😀
That’s all right. 🙂

I have to say, Germany was probably not among the TOP places I’d like to visit, but after seeing your pictures, I might be changing my mind! The architecture is so charming! And my husband would love the food 🙂

Same here, Germany wasn’t one of my dream destination since it’s right next door but I’m always pleasantly surprised by all the charming cities there! Add the yummy food to that equation and you have yourself a wonderful trip. 😊

The top destination on my bucket list is probably Mongolia because it sounds amazing. Heidelberg looks gorgeous, and quite similar to a small german town I visited near Munich when I was there last month. While I was in Germany, I had Spatzle, which I really really liked, and also some types of cake that kind of were like that? They were soaked in schnapps which was interesting, and had a lot of cream. Also, I love castle ruins! That’s so so so cool. I wish I had more castles near where I live…

Mongolia, that’s awesome! That sounds like such a great destination! 😊 Yes, the german cities do have that charming look about them. Yuuum, you’re making me hungry all over again 😋 Oh that’s too bad you haven’t got lots of castles, I guess you need to build one haha 🙈

Oh, the pictures you took for Heidelberg definitely look like they’re from fairy tales. That’s the magical part of so many European cities — so many of them look like fairy tale towns taken straight from a story book illustration! 😊 I’ve never been to Germany before, and I wasn’t interested in the past, but this year I’ve been learning a lot about European history and because of that I’ve been hit with this desire to go to Germany, France, Poland, and all the places I’ve learned about in class. I would love to see the places I read about in my textbooks IRL! 😄

Yes, you’re right! The cities are SO charming (I’m a bit biased since I’m living there but hell it’s the truth haha 🙈). That’s awesome! It’s always a great experience to visit cities you’ve been learning all about. It’s like it’s suddenly becoming real! 😊

Your photos are so beautiful and wow, that cake looks very tasty! I have never been in Germany (unless you count in an airport waiting for a flight to Spain), but it’s on the list! I’m glad you guys had a great time and you totally gave me some intense wanderlust feelings.

I just want to pack my bag and go – I’ve never been to Heidelberg but it looks so cute and lovely?? You and Marie need to stop putting so many new places to my travel bucket list I don’t have the money hahaha

I have never heard about Heidelberg but I am glad I stumbled upon this post. I definitely want to visit Germany someday 🙂

All the food that you mentioned looks yummy and I want to try them, like right now? 😀

Europe is such a great place to travel and many of my dream destinations are in Europe only. Top destinations on my list are Paris and Amsterdam along with many others. I hope, one day I could do a whole Europe trip 😀

Same here, I just discovered Heidelberg by looking at pretty pictures on Google 🙈 Haha, YEEES all that glorious food! 😋Paris and Amsterdam are both awesome, if one day you want some tips I’m here 😊 Hope you’ll get to chance to visit Europe soon, I’m sure you’ll love it 😘😘

Ahhhh Heidelberg is one of the most beautiful cities of Germany and I can’t believe I still have never been there! I’m glad you enjoyed yourself so much and the pictures are beautiful! AND YAY ALL THAT GERMAN FOOOOOD ❤